I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle seats and, more particularly, to a vehicle seat with hidden mechanism.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There are a number of previously known vehicle seats which utilize a pedestal design for securing the seat to the vehicle floor. These previously known pedestal seats comprise a base or seat portion on which a person sits. Usually, this seat base comprises a metal frame and is mounted to the vehicle floor by two or more rails which allow the longitudinal position of the seat relative to the vehicle to be adjusted by the user.
In addition, these previously known pedestal seats include a seat back also having a metal frame and which extends upwardly from the rear of the base. The seat back is typically pivotally mounted to the base so that the seat back can recline with respect to the base. Conventional locking means allow the seat back to be locked to the seat base at a plurality of angular positions.
Both the seat back and the seat base are covered by cushions constructed of foam or the like.
One disadvantage of these previously known pedestal vehicle seats is that the hinges between the base and the seat back are positioned on opposite sides of the seat between the base and the seat back and thus are exposed to the interior of the passenger compartment. Since these hinges are exposed to the passenger compartment, the hinges must be covered and/or ornamentally constructed to both provide a pleasing appearance for the seat as well as to protect the user and his clothes from injury during operation of the hinge. The necessity of covering or ornamenting the hinge, however, is disadvantageously expensive both in material and labor costs.
A still further disadvantage of these previously known vehicle seats is that seat and back frames are expensive and heavy in construction since these frames are an integral part of the seat structure and must be designed to withstand all seat loading during testing and use. Consequently, the base and back frames are not easily interchangable to provide alternate seating patterns and styling.